The importance of family

I keep coming back to this theme, but as I get older, I find myself reflecting more on how important family is. When I was younger, it was easy to assume family would always be there. As I became busy with life, career, children and responsibilities, the years quietly slipped by. Now I feel incredibly fortunate to have a loving family, and I am especially grateful for my siblings and extended family. We share a history that nobody else can fully understand. Childhood memories, family stories, celebrations and difficult times connect us, no matter how much our individual lives may have changed.

This weekend I am really looking forward to catching up with my siblings. It will be especially meaningful, as it has now been six months since our sister passed away. It is hard to believe how quickly those six months have gone. Grief has a strange relationship with time. Some memories feel like yesterday, while at other times the person we have lost seems impossibly far away. Her absence will undoubtedly be felt when we are together, but so too will her presence in our memories and conversations. Loss reminds me that time is precious. We cannot slow it down, but we can choose how we use it. For me, that means appreciating family, making the effort to stay connected, and never taking the people I love for granted.